Can attachment.



R. DOW.

GAN ATTACHMENT- APPLICATION FILED APR. 7, 1908.

910, 182, Patented Jan. 19, 1909.

IJIITI/ llll v WIT SSES INVENTOR flW/zflaw A 7TOHNEYS r: nnnnls FEYKRS co., wAsmNmcN. a. c

RALPH DOW, OF MANSFIELD, OHIO.

CAN ATTACHJMIENT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 7, 1908.

Patented. Jan. 19, 1909.

Serial No. 425,630.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RALPH Dow, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Mansfield, in the county of Richland and State of Ohio, have invented a new and Improved Can Attachment, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact descrip tion.

My invention relates to means for opening tin cans and other such receptacles, and has for its object to provide a novel and improved means for opening sealed cans, which will not require any instrument of peculiar construction by which it may be operated.

Another object of the invention is to pro vide means to open sealed cans circumferentially and longitudinally, so that the can will be burst as it were and in all cases it will be possible to withdraw the contents of the can intact.

In this specification I will describe my preferred form of the invention, but I do not limit myself thereto as I consider myself to be entitled to all forms and embodiments of the invention which may be held to fall within the scope of the appended claims.

In the drawings similar reference characters indicate similar parts in all the figures, in which Figure l is a perspective view of the can; Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional elevation of the can; and Fig. 3 is a sectional plan view of the same.

In the drawings I show my invention in use with a cylindrical can, but it will be understood that my opening means may be used in connection with other forms of cans. The can 1 which is shown in the drawing is cylindrical in form, and has secured to one of its heads as at 2, a wire 3, and this wire is disposed longitudinally on the inside of the can until it reaches a point located some distance below the other head of the can, when the wire 3 is bent circumferentially, close to the inner side of the can until it forms, practically, a complete circle, and the terminal 4 is passed through the side of the can as at 5 and is sealed to the can so that the can will be air-tight. As shown, the horizontal or curved portion of the wire lies a considerable distance, that is to'say one-half to one inch, below the head of the can, for a reason that will be presently stated. The end of the wire is provided, exteriorly of the can, with a hook or head a which may be conveniently seized or gripped by means of pincers or pliers, or other device, when it is desired to open the can.

It will be understood that the wire is arranged in the position indicated in the drawing in the course of manufacture of the can body. lVhen the can is filled through the top with the material it is to contain, the head 6 is applied and soldered in place in the usual way. The can is intended more particularly for containing material which becomes hard or solid when dried. It willbe apparent, therefore, that in opening the can, such material being encircled by the portion 3 of the wire, will resist the latter to such an extent that the wire will rip the can circumferentially, whereas, if the material in the can did not offer such resistance, the wire would be drawn directly across the can and the latter would not be cut circumferentially. hen the circumferential division has been effected by drawing the wire around the can body, the Wire then cuts the can lengthwise from top to bottom. Thus the can head 6 is practically severed from the can body and the latter 1s split lengthwise so that the contents of the can may be taken out bodily or intact, even though the same may have expanded to a certain degree after the can was sealed.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A sheet metal can provided with an attachment comprising a wire secured to the lower portion of the can interiorly, and extended upward alongside the can body and then deflected and curved horizontally, lying adjacent to the body and passing through the latter and extending therefrom exteriorly contiguous to the point of lateral deflection, as shown and described.

2. A sheet metal can provided with an attachment comprising a wire secured to the lower portion of the can interiorly, and extended upward alongside the can body and name to this specification in the presence of then deflected and curved horizontally two subscribing Witnesses.

around the can body at a considerable distance below the top of the can and extend- RALPH ing through the latter, as shown and de- Vitnesses: scribed. LOUIs ARTING,

In testimony whereof I have signed my LOUIS D. BARR. 

